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Let the marketing begin!

It’s that time of year again when the shameful marketing of Christ gets into full swing. Do you see anything wrong with this Christmas nativity decoration being sold by Christian Book Distributors, or is it just me?

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12 thoughts on “Let the marketing begin!”

Veggie Tales has a carrot for their infant, so why not a bird? At heart, it’s all graven images and violation of God’s word even when the infant is a babe. Something which many protest against and slam Catholics for 11 months out of the year, but grow more and more silent the closer we get to Dec 25. This is one time where I believe the baby needs to be thrown out with the bath water.

I think the other thing is that Lucy and Charlie are NOT married but are still children. So why are they representing them as Mary and Joseph? What are they saying here? Is Woodstock, the bird, taking over the position that ONLY Christ held at one point? I agree that even babies should not be put in this position because it firmly plants in some people’s mind that Jesus is still a babe and He’s not! He shouldn’t be put on the cross either because He is NOT dead!

“Let’s see, Mary, Joseph, and the “babe” in a stable. There are no wise men in the stable, that at least that part is correct. There is a star over the door so that would be correct. It is being sold by a “Christian” organization so that must be a good thing. And “peace on earth” is a good thing, so surely you can’t be having an issue with that.

So, what’s the deal, The Pilgrim, do you just not like Charlie Brown??!! At least it is a “Christian” “Christmas” scene! You should stop being so judgmental. Accept the fact that cultural trends mean we must make changes to become more relevant. There are less and less people who like Christians and this condemnation is just going to turn more people away from the truth that God loves them and has a wonderful plan for their lives.”

On a serious note, there are many things wrong with this picture, but most people just won’t get it.

It’s two kids having a Christmas pageant. Do you not believe in Christmas pageants, or do you not believe in drawing cartoons about them? Believe it or not, there was a time when the story was only told through pageants, because almost no one could read. Now, they’re done to teach kids about the Christmas story. The Charlie Brown Christmas story is just a portrayal of that.

M. Patterson,
I would ask you this…is a portrayal of the infant Christ as a bird acceptable when it comes to giving sobering truth as to why He came here in the first place? How does using cartoon characters help teach the Gospel? How is the Son of God who hung bloody, beaten, naked and dying on a cross explained honestly and truthfully if we resort to using cartoons, which kids see as fun and entertaining? And we wonder why young people have no grasp on who God is, i.e., His holiness, His mercy, His love, His righteousness, justice, forebearance…His wrath and judgment because of His hatred of sin. It’s considered ‘cute’ to portray and make light of the Son of God as a cartoon bird, which overlooks why He came in the first place; to reconcile wicked, vile sinners back to a Holy God.
It is irrelevant that Christ came as an infant compared to WHY He came…
Something as serious as sin and as merciful as the Son of God dying should not be treated lightly — the consequences of sin is DEATH…is that not as serious as it gets?

M. Patterson said: Believe it or not, there was a time when the story was only told through pageants, because almost no one could read. You are correct about the pageants but the issue was not whether people could read or not, because they could hear and understand language. Rather, it was because the Scriptures and path to salvation were kept under lock and key by the Roman clergy.

As far as its origins, the nativity scene as most call it today, was created and given to the world by the Roman Catholic Francis of Assisi (originally was a living presentation). So evangelicals can not only thank Rome for giving her the day (i.e. the Christ Mass), but also the creche.

Most theologians don’t know this, but, when Joseph thought to put Mary away privily, it was partly because of the scandal of her pre-marital pregnancy, but it was mostly because she kept pulling away the football at the last second when he was practicing his field goals.

The marketing of Christianity is a year round activity. It is shameful that Christianity has become a money making industry. Many are guilty of the charge Jesus had against those who sought to profit from the faith, Luke 19:46: “It is written, ‘My house is a house of prayer,’ but you have made it a ‘den of thieves.'”

You’re right.
we should leave Christmas to the Grinch and Frosty the Snowman, rather than muddle it up with Cartoons that actually mention Christ. What a way to confuse kids about the meaning of Christmas. Next thing you know, they’ll think Santa isn’t real.

Methinks you don’t know who your friends are. Moral of the story: don’t dare do anything of Christian relevance, because if you don’t get it exactly right, the Christians will pound you. Stick to secular things and you’ll be just fine.

The issue here is the word “relevance” and is a word being used far too often within circles claiming to know the name of Christ. Our job is not too try and make the gospel “relevant” to the world. They are lost and on their way to eternity. When marketers are using gimmickry and worldly tactics to portray that which is sacred, it only makes a mockery of the truth. So if cartoons portraying the first coming of the Perfect Sinbearer with a bird as the infant holy, then would it be safe to assume that you have no problems with shows like The Simpsons that at least portray some semblance of religion in the form of a bumbling priest?

It really does not matter who we think or who you think our friends may or may not be. What is MOST important is the words of the Lord Jesus Christ who said, “You are My friends if you do whatever I command you.” What are the commands? The first is to love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and mind. Part of that love is expressed in the command that we are not to make any graven images.

For what it is worth, nobody said anything about leaving the account of the birth of Christ to the Grinch or Frosty the Snowman. However, much of evangelicalism has fallen so far down the path of materialism that the account of the incarnation and birth of our Saviour has been relegated to a “Christmas pageant” and a quick read of the story in Luke — and then on to the presents! Thanks Santa!

As for not getting “it exactly right”, true believers have a responsibility to follow the dictates of the Word of God, not to pick and choose what parts they like and then trivialize the rest. And you wonder why the world does not take Christianity seriously?

Important context: in the Peanuts world, Woodstock (the bird) is just as smart as the kids there, so him acting out a role in a play would make sense – at least as much sense as a dog being a WWI flying ace.